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The Artwork in History

Course dates: Tuesday 06 October 2026 - Tuesday 23 March 2027

Class timetable: 27 sessions (View class timetable for Tuesday 06 October 2026 to Tuesday 23 March 2027)

Timetable data for Tuesday 06 October 2026 to Tuesday 23 March 2027

Day of class Date of class Time Venue
Tuesday 06-Oct-2026 5:00pm - 6:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Tuesday 13-Oct-2026 5:00pm - 6:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Tuesday 20-Oct-2026 5:00pm - 6:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Tuesday 27-Oct-2026 6:00pm - 7:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Tuesday 03-Nov-2026 6:00pm - 7:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Tuesday 10-Nov-2026 6:00pm - 7:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Tuesday 17-Nov-2026 6:00pm - 7:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Tuesday 17-Nov-2026 7:30pm - 9:00pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Tuesday 24-Nov-2026 6:00pm - 7:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Tuesday 01-Dec-2026 6:00pm - 7:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Tuesday 01-Dec-2026 7:30pm - 9:00pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Tuesday 08-Dec-2026 6:00pm - 7:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Tuesday 15-Dec-2026 6:00pm - 7:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Tuesday 15-Dec-2026 7:30pm - 9:00pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Tuesday 12-Jan-2027 6:00pm - 7:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Tuesday 19-Jan-2027 6:00pm - 7:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Tuesday 26-Jan-2027 6:00pm - 7:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Tuesday 02-Feb-2027 6:00pm - 7:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Tuesday 09-Feb-2027 6:00pm - 7:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Tuesday 16-Feb-2027 6:00pm - 7:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Tuesday 23-Feb-2027 6:00pm - 7:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Tuesday 23-Feb-2027 7:30pm - 9:00pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Tuesday 02-Mar-2027 6:00pm - 7:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Tuesday 09-Mar-2027 6:00pm - 7:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Tuesday 09-Mar-2027 7:30pm - 9:00pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Tuesday 16-Mar-2027 6:00pm - 7:30pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Tuesday 23-Mar-2027 6:00pm - 9:00pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London

Location: Birkbeck Campus, Central London

Fees: £1640.00

Register

Course Overview

The Artwork in History short course revolves around a series of complex art historical case studies, from different moments in art history. You will be preparing for and taking part in lively seminar discussions that focus on the social and economic as well as artistic circumstance of making and exhibiting artworks, and consider their reception. The development of your writing skill is supported by specific workshops on writing academic essays, and on using a range of secondary and primary sources introduced by the module.

Case studies typically include:

  • Art in religious settings: Santa Croce in Florence, Italy
  • Art academies and challenges to them: the Salon des Refusés, 1863 Paris
  • Modernism: Picasso’s Demoiselles d’Avignon, 1907 to now
  • Art and design: the British Galleries in the Victoria and Albert Museum

Assessment is via a 500-word essay plan and bibliography (20%) and 2000-word essay (80%).

As a student on this course, you will study alongside Birkbeck students enrolled on one of our undergraduate or postgraduate courses, giving you the opportunity to network with a range of Birkbeck current students whilst you learn.

This can be taken as a standalone short course or as part of:

Credits: 30 credits at level 4

Fees

Students are charged a tuition fee for each short course on registering. Please view details for this course, including dates, location and fees at the top of this page. Short course fees may be subject to annual inflationary increases. For more information, please see our Fees Policy.

Birkbeck's Lifelong Learning Guarantee

If you've studied at Birkbeck before and successfully completed an award with us, take advantage of our Lifelong Learning Guarantee to gain a reduction on the tuition fee of this course.

School of Historical Studies

The school is intensively interdisciplinary and its research and teaching covers every period from prehistory to the early twenty-first century.

Entry Requirements

Most of our short courses have no formal entry requirements and are open to all students.

This short course has no prerequisites.

As part of the registration process, you may be required to submit a copy of a suitable form of ID.

International students who wish to come to the UK to study a short course can apply for a Visitor visa. Please note that it is not possible to obtain a Student visa to study a short course.

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How to Register

You register directly onto the classes you would like to take. Classes are filled on a first-come, first-served basis - so register early.

If you want to take more than one short course, you can select each one separately and then register onto them together via our online application portal. There is usually no formal selection process, although some modules may have prerequisites and/or other requirements, which will be specified where relevant.